 |
 |
Dear Doug and Betsy, Thanks for your contributions. I recently read (on a flight to the UK) an article `Checks on IVF children'' in the British tabloid Daily Mail of 23 Oct.2002, p. 16-17 by Tim Hutton and Jeremy Hope. Besides the risks for women associated with the fertility inducing drugs and the technique of ICSI, it also mentions risks of pregnancies resulting from frozen embryos. I quote: "Lord Winston, Prof. of fertility studies at Imperial College School of Medicine.... plans to publish research showing that freezing embryos affects the normal activity of vital genes. He said "Essentially we have reason to believe that gene expression may change after different injuries and we've got some evidence to support that (with frozen embryos). Basic functions such as growth, respiration and metabolism are regulated by genes, and if you change the way those genes are expressed -even temporarily - during times of rapid development, such as an embryo, you may well expect to see changes in the way the embryo develops." The article mentions that the HEFA is setting up long-term checks to assess any risks from the treatments. I believe the risks for women and children related to IVF and related technologies needs to be taken up as a serious public health issue and discussed more widely. Jyotsna A. Gupta, sociologist Senior Researcher Leiden University Medical Center Lecturer Gender and Diversity, University for Humanistics, Utrecht The Netherlands